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Digital conduct and bureaucracy: a jump in complaints from senior citizens about public services - voila! news

2023-02-07T14:13:58.657Z


Since 2019, the number of senior citizens complaining to the Ombudsman has increased by 23%. Record of complaints: National Insurance. followed by the ministries of transport and health. The main complaints: difficulty adapting to digital services and bureaucracy. Critic Engelman: "They are treated with disdain because of their age"


The state auditor on the poor living conditions at the IDF bases in Judea and Samaria (Walla system!)

The number of complaints by seniors to the Public Complaints Ombudsman about the service they receive from public bodies has increased by 23% since 2019. This is according to a special report on the public service provided to senior citizens by the State Comptroller and Public Complaints Ombudsman Matanyahu Engelman.



The period of the report refers to the time period from the beginning of 2019 to the middle of 2022. Complaints were submitted to the Commissioner by 12,882 complainants of the third age.

A gender segmentation shows that men complain more than women (62% versus 38% respectively), and the highest percentage of complainants in this population are citizens in their 60s with 32% of the complaints.

As the age increases, the number of complainers decreases.

About 60% of the complainants of the third age are without an academic education (having only a high school diploma or less), and about 40% of the complainants have an academic education.

Record of complaints, National Insurance (Photo: Reuven Castro)

According to the report, the body that received the most complaints from seniors is the National Insurance Institute, with 988 complaints.

It is followed by the Ministry of Transport and Road Safety, with 825 complaints.

The Ministry of Health came in third place, with 564 complaints.

Immediately followed by Israel Post, with 544 complaints.

In the last places are Amidar, with 429 complaints, the Tax Authority, with 418 complaints, and the Israel Police with only 349 complaints.



There are five main issues that seniors complain about.

The first is the difficulty of adapting to the digital services of public bodies.

In this population, there are quite a few citizens whose digital literacy is low, due to cognitive or physical difficulties, due to a lack of knowledge and training or due to the lack of suitable hardware and equipment, such as smart phones.

As a result, they are left behind in receiving and accessing services.

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Being left behind due to the difficulty of adapting to digital services (Photo: Unsplash)

Another problem that seniors face is the requirement to submit repeated requests to exercise a benefit or right, although it is clear that the circumstances justifying the granting of the benefit or right will not change.

For example, the Ministry of Transportation requests renewal of the disabled person's card every year, even though nothing will change in their medical condition.



A third problem is bureaucracy and delays in providing the service.

This problem, which makes it difficult for the complainants, is the need to contact different parties at the same time in order to exercise a right.

Another problem relates to human relations.

Seniors experience disdain, insensitivity or unavailability.

Sometimes seniors experience abusive treatment from the service providers, which may stem from prejudice or insensitivity towards them.

A final problem is a lack of attention and consideration of physical or cognitive difficulties.



In the last 25 years, the elderly population has increased 1.5 times.

In 1995 this population constituted 8.4% of the total population, while in 2021 their number increased to 12.2%.

At the end of 2021, nearly 14% of seniors were 75 or older, and almost 12% of them were 85 or older.

"Public servants should remember first and foremost that there is a person in front of them."

State Comptroller Mattaniho Engelman (Photo: Mark Israel Salem)

The increase in the number of seniors, and in their proportion in the population as a whole, will continue and even increase in the coming years.

According to the forecasts, by the year 2040 the number of people aged 65 and over in Israel will be about two million, and their proportion in the population will be 14.2%.



State Comptroller and Public Complaints Ombudsman Matanahu Engelman: "When they come to receive public services, seniors encounter difficulties and challenges of several kinds. The digitization trend of public services causes difficulties among the older population. They often suffer from disdain and condescension due to their age, and the service providers do not take their situation into account enough and their limitations. Lack of knowledge of the laws and guidelines, and bureaucratic barriers, make it difficult for seniors to exercise their rights.



"Each and every one of the public servants who provide service to an elderly person should remember first and foremost that there is a person in front of them and take into account their special circumstances and needs, regardless of their age. All of these require the service provider to act flexibly and sensitively, to be careful with respectful communication, to simplify the bureaucratic procedures, and to facilitate Make it possible for those who have difficulty exercising their rights."



The National Insurance stated: "The National Insurance handles more than 52 million inquiries a year as a trustee on many comprehensive and cross-cutting issues relevant to the majority of the public in Israel. Unfortunately, time and time again, the Commission states that the number of complaints against the National Insurance is high compared to other entities without qualifying and explaining the areas of responsibility, treatment on different and varied topics for senior citizens and the important relativity for understanding the comparison.



"Unfortunately, time and time again the figure on the number of justified complaints is mentioned in a limited way or not mentioned at all, even though it is a small number that presents the organization in a completely different light and a small percentage of complaints - and it is a shame that this information is not transparent to the public. The National Insurance is the only body that maintains service channels Diverse both digitally and in dealing with a human factor, manning a hotline for senior citizens (*9696) and their families, an array of volunteers to exercise rights for them and more."

  • news

  • News in Israel

  • Society and welfare

Tags

  • elderly people

  • Matanyahu Engelman

  • State Comptroller

  • the third age

  • senior citizens

Source: walla

All news articles on 2023-02-07

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